Dispensing container



United States 2,954,148 msPENslNG CONTAINER Andrew L. Corrinet, Oradell, NJ., and Joseph H. Fredette, New York, N.Y., assignors-v to American Can ompany, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New ersey Filed Apr. 28, 1958, Ser. No. 731,261'r 4 Claims. (Cl. 222-541) An object of the invention is to provide -a connection between the rotatable closure and'the container which holds the closure against rotation in a closed position during shipment and storage and which is readily rupturable by the consumer through rotation of the closure to shift the closure into operative position for use.

Another object is to provide such a connection which readily indicates to the consumer that the closure and probably the contents of the container has been tampered with if the connection is broken prior to purchase of the container.

Another object is to provide such aconnection which traps `any loose parts of the connection when broken so as to prevent such loose parts from falling into the container and the contents thereof. Y

Another object is to provide such a connection which is simple in construction and economical to produce and yet is foolproof.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with -the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred emebodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container embodying the instant invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of la stationary dispensing element in the container shown in Fig. l, `and -a rotatable closure therefor;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View taken substantially along a plane indicated by the lines 3 3 in Fig. 1, with the lower portion of the container broken away; and

Figs. 4 and 5 are-enlarged fragmentary sectional Views similar to Fig. 3 and showing the portion of the container embodying the rupturable connection; Fig. 4 showing the elements Abe-fore rupture and Fig. 5 showing them after rupture.

As a preferred and exemplary embodiment of the instant invention, lthe -drawings illustrate a dispensing container for granular products, such as salt and the like, the container comprising 'a cylindrical tubular, spirally wound fibre body 11 -having top and bottom fibre slip covers 12, 13 permanently secured to the ends thereof, although the invention is equally well adapted to other kinds of containers and to other m-aterials.

In its top end or cover 12, the container preferably is provided with 'a two element plastic dispensing device comprising a generally dat stationary element 15 (Fig. 2) and a dat rotary disc element or closure 16 which ts within the stationary element. The stationary element 15 preferably is circular in conguraton and in its peripheral edge is formed with `an annular groove 17 (Fig. 3) for securing the element in `anyrsuitable leakproof manner in an opening 18 in the top of the cover 12.

The stationary element 15 is provided with a circular recessed or flat sunken panel 21 for the reception of the rotatable element or closu-re 16. The inner periphery of the stationary element surrounding the sunken panel 21 preferably is undercut With a concavely curved groove 22 to receive and permit of snapping into place a convexly curved peripheral edge or bead 23l on the closure 16, to serve as a retaining seat on which the closure may be manually rotated.

The sunken panel- 21 of the stationary element 15 is provided with a dispensing opening 25 (Fig. 2) while the closure 16 is provided with a group of sitter perforations 26 and a diametrically opposed pouring opening 27 having a lip 28, which through rotation of the closure may be moved selectively into register withv the dispensling opening 25 to dispense the contents of the container. When the perforations 26 and the pouring opening 27 are out of register with the dispensing opening 25 i.e. disposed on opposite sides of the opening25, las shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the opening 25 is closed and dispensing of the container contents is prevented. A raised lug Ior handle 29 extending across the top of the closure 16 is provided to rotate the closure into either sifting or pouring position as desired.

In order to lock and maintain the closure 16 in a closed position during shipment andstorage and to provide a dev-ice to readily detect when the closure and/or the contents of the container have been tampered with, a rupturable loose connection is provided between the closure 16 and the stationary element 15. ForY this purpose, the closure 16 is provided with a pair of spaced and adjacent eccentrically mounted lugs or abutments 31, 32 (Figs. 2, 4 and 5) which depend from the bottom of the closure and which project into a radial groove' 33 in the upper face of the sunken panel 21.

The closure lugs 31, 32 straddle a break-off lug or shear pin 34 which projects upwardly from the bottom of the groove 33 in the panel 21. The closure lugs 31, 32 preferably 4are disposed close together so as to permit of only slight rotation of the closure 16 relative to the stationary element 15 so that the closure is maintained relatively stationary and closed. The ybreak-off lug 34 is located so as to hold the closure 16 in this closed position, with the perforations 26 and the pouring opening 27 out of register with the dispensing opening 25 in the panel 21, yas best shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Thus during shipment and storage of the container, the clos-ure 16 cannot of its own accord, as through vibration or other movement, rotate in its seat in the stationary element 15, into an open position where the contents may be inadvertently dispensed. When in the hands of the consumer, a mere twisting of the closure 16 by application of a turning movement to the handle 29, in either direction, exerts suiicient force against the break-off lug 34 to break the lug away from the panel 21 as shown in Fig. 5 land thus permit rotation of the closure into sifting or pouring position. The terminal ends of the radial groove 33 preferably are located in the panel 21 to serve as stops against which the closure lugs 31, 32 engage to stop the group of perforations 26 and the pouring opening 27 in proper register with the dispensing opening 25 for use.

The break-oir lug 34 when ruptured from the panel 21 remains in place between the closure lugs 31, 32 as shown in Fig. 5, and rides along the groove 33 with the rotation of the closure 16. This broken-off lug 34 is thus trapped in the groove 33 and cannot in any manner escape to drop into t-he container or its contents. Since the closure lugs 31, 32, the break-off lug 34, and the groove 33 are located between the closure 16 and the stationary element 15, they are inaccessible and thereby tamperproof. Only when the break-oit lug 34 is sheared oi can the closure be rotated and thus tampering with the container is indicated if the closure is rotatable prior to purchase of the container by the consumer.

Although the ldrawings illustrate the container as being equipped with a two element plastic dispensing device, it should be understood that the features of the stationary element 15 can be readily incorporated in the container cover 12 as integral parts thereof and that the break-off lug 34 need not be kan integral part of either the closure 16 or the stationary element 15 or even the container cover, but may take the form of a shear-olf pin secured in one or both of the cooperating parts to be locked together.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant -advantages will lbe understood from the foregoing description, and it will Vbe, apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

We claim:

1. A container having a member provided with a dispensing opening, a closure member mounted on said container member for movement over said dispensing 4 wherein said closure is mounted for rotary movement on said container member and said break-off lug is integrated with one of said members and the other of said members is provided with at least one abutment engageable with said break-off lug yfor connecting said members to hold said closure member against rotation until said break-olf lug is broken from its member.

3. A container of the character dened in claim 1 wherein said break-oit lug is integrated with one of said members and is disposed between opposingr abutmentson the other of said members projecting into said recess, whereby said break-o lug, when separated from its member, remains confined between walls of said recess v and said abutments.

opening, said closure member having at least one opening therethrough movable into register with said dispensing opening, at least one of said members having a recess therein facing the other member, and a break-olf lug in said recess connecting said members for holding said closure member with its opening out of register with said dispensing opening, said brealooi lug being rupturable through relative movement between said members, and said ruptured and separated lug being conned and held by said recess against entrance into said container.

2. A container of the character defined in claim 1 4. A containerv comprising a wall member having a dispensing opening therein, a closure member mounted on said wall member for movement over said dispensing opening, said closure member having at least one opening therein movable along a predetermined path and in to register with said dispensing opening, one of said members having a recess therein covered by the other member and located out of alignment with said path of said opening, and a break-01T element in said recess connecting said members for holding said closure member with its opening out of register with said dispensing opening, said break-off element being rupturable through forced relative movement between said members for disconnecting them thus permitting movement of said closure member opening into registration over said dispensing opening while said ruptured and separated break-olf element remains trapped in said recess between the members.

References yCited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 20,374 Racine et al. May 18, 1937 886,509 Hothersall May 5, 1908 1,996,493 Schumacher Apr. 2, 1935 2,324,032 Schlabach July 13, 1943 2,805,005 Kappler Sept. 3, l957 

